Districts of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals

TheDistrict Courts of Appeal are theintermediate appellate courts for the state ofOhio. The courts are established by Article IV, Section 1 of theOhio Constitution, and their jurisdiction is outlined in Article IV, Section 3.^[1]

Twelve districts make up the District Courts of Appeal, and each district is assigned a certain number of counties. The number of judges in each district varies by caseload and population, but each district has between four and 12 judges.^[1]

Judges hear and decide cases in panels of three.^[1]

Jurisdiction

The District Courts of Appeal primarily hear appeals from theCommon Pleas,Municipal andCounty courts. They also have original jurisdiction to hear applications for writs ofhabeas corpus,mandamus,procedendo, prohibition and quo warranto.^[1]

The10th District, based inFranklin County, has special jurisdiction to hear appeals from theOhio Court of Claims.^[1]

Judicial districts

There are 12 judicial districts in Ohio.

Judges

First District

Second District

Third District

Fourth District

Fifth District

Sixth District

Seventh District

Eighth District

Ninth District

Tenth District

Eleventh District

Twelfth District

Salary

See also:Ohio court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $178,108, according to the National Center for State Courts.^[2]

Judicial selection

See also:Judicial selection in Ohio

The judges of theOhio District Courts of Appeal are selected through partisan primaries and partisan general elections. Previously, these judges were selected through partisan primaries and nonpartisan general elections, known as theMichigan method.^[3][4] The number of judges on the court of appeals varies by district over time, based on district size and caseload. Each district has between four and 12 judges.^[5]

All judges serve six-year terms, after which they are required to run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court. District courts of appeal candidates are chosen in their respective appellate districts.^[6]

Qualifications

To serve on the Ohio District Courts of Appeals, a judge must:

• have at least six years in the practice of law;
• be licensed to practice law in the state for at least one year preceding appointment or commencement of the judge's term;
• a judge of a court of record in any jurisdiction in the U.S.; and
• be under the age of 70.^[7]

Presiding judge

The manner in which thepresiding judge is chosen for each appellate district varies among the districts.^[8]

Vacancies

In the event of a midterm vacancy, thegovernor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election taking place 40 or more days after the vacancy occurred. If re-elected, the judge serves the remainder of his or her predecessor's unexpired term.^[6]

Elections

To see election results, please visit theindividual district pages. For details about Ohio's judicial elections,click here.

• Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
• Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
• Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
• Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

Ethics

TheOhio Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates inOhio. It consists of four overarching canons:

• Canon 1: "A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety."
• Canon 2: "A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently."
• Canon 3: "A judge shall conduct the judge’s personal and extrajudicial activities so as to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office."
• Canon 4: "A judge or judicial candidate shall not engage in political or campaign activity that is inconsistent with the independence, integrity, or impartiality of the judiciary."^[9]

The full text of theOhio Code of Judicial Conduct can be foundhere.

Removal of judges

Judges inOhio may be removed in one of three ways:^[10][11]

• Retirement, removal or suspension by a specialSupreme Court commission.
• Removal by a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members of both houses of theOhio General Assembly.
• Conviction by a two-thirds vote of theOhio Senate, upon impeachment by a majority vote of theOhio House of Representatives.

State profile

Presidential voting pattern

See also:Presidential voting trends in Ohio

Ohiovoted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted forDonald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting forBarack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won thesePivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, nine are located in Ohio, accounting for 4.37 percent of the total pivot counties.^[12]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won asRetained Pivot Counties and those won byJoe Biden (D) asBoomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Ohio had eight Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 4.42 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Ohio coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Ohio
• United States congressional delegations from Ohio
• Public policy in Ohio
• Endorsers in Ohio
• Ohio fact checks
• More...

See also

Ohio	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in OhioOhio District Courts of AppealsOhio Supreme Court	Elections:2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017Gubernatorial appointmentsJudicial selection in Ohio	Federal courtsState courtsLocal courts

External links

• Ohio Courts of Appeals

Footnotes

v • e Ohio District Courts of Appeals Judicial selection in Ohio •2026 elections •Ohio Supreme Court
First District	Peter Stautberg  •  Marilyn Zayas  •  Jennifer Kinsley  •
Second District	Mike Fain  •  Jeffrey M. Welbaum  •  Mary Katherine Huffman  •  Michael L. Tucker (Ohio)  •  Chris Epley  •  Ronald Lewis (Ohio)  •
Third District	John Willamowski  •  Richard M. Rogers (Ohio)  •  William R. Zimmerman  •  Mark Miller (Ohio court of appeals)  •  Juergen Waldick  •
Fourth District	Marie Hoover  •  Valarie Gerlach  •  Mike Hess  •  Kristy Wilkin  •
Fifth District	Scott Gwin  •  William Hoffman  •  John Wise  •  Patricia Delaney  •  Andrew King (Ohio)  •
Sixth District	Thomas Osowik  •  Gene Zmuda  •  Steve Yarbrough (Ohio)  •  Christine Mayle  •  Charles Sulek  •
Seventh District	Cheryl Waite  •  Carol Ann Robb  •  Mark Hanni  •  Katelyn Dickey  •
Eighth District	Mary Boyle  •  Sean Gallagher  •  Mary Kilbane  •  Emanuella Groves  •  Kathleen Ann Keough  •  Deena R. Calabrese  •  Eileen T. Gallagher  •  Timothy McCormack (Ohio)  •  Eileen A. Gallagher  •  Michelle Sheehan  •  Lisa Forbes  •
Ninth District	Carla Moore  •  Donna Carr  •  Beth Whitmore  •  Scot Stevenson  •  Jennifer Lee Hensal  •  Jill Flagg Lanzinger  •
Tenth District	Julia L. Dorrian  •  Terri Jamison  •  Betsy Luper Schuster  •  David Leland  •  Kristin Boggs  •  Michael Mentel  •  Carly Edelstein  •
Eleventh District	Mary Jane Trapp  •  Colleen O'Toole  •  Eugene A. Lucci  •  John Eklund (Ohio)  •  Matt Lynch  •  Robert Patton  •
Twelfth District	Stephen Powell  •  Michael E. Powell (Ohio)  •  Robin N. Piper  •  Matthew Byrne  •